Rebecca – Writer, Stylist, Muse – Olympic Sculpture Park

Rebecca agreed to meet up and take some pictures, and although I love the items she chose to wear, nothing compares with her own photo shoots (that she styles and takes herself) on her very lovely blog, The Clothes Horse. Rebecca is a natural in front of the camera, fluent in art and fashion, and a well travelled force who I found inspiring beyond measure. We walked around the sculpture park, which is a must, even for locals, and then headed to La Carta de Oaxaca for lunch and a chat. Here’s what she had to say…

NT: Gives us your best fashion advice-
RS: Wear whatever makes you feel comfortable, or makes you happy. It’s pointless to follow trends, if at the end of the day you’re just following them blindly. But to wear clothes that make you happy gives you confidence, and that can carry you through the day. Dressing in a way that will influence your mood, bright colors on a gloomy day, I think is a good thing.

NT: Who are your style icons?
RS: I’m inspired a lot by characters in film. One of my favourites is ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ starring Faye Dunaway. I love that film, I want every single outfit, and in fall, I want to dress like that everyday. Real life people…? Sofia Coppola. I think she’s known for her films, and fashion, for her, is secondary, which allows her style to be a reflection of who she is as a person.

NT: Describe your style to me, how has your style evolved over the years?
RS: I like to call it quircky feminine, because I like to dress pretty feminine, I like dresses, I wear pants maybe 3 days out of the year…and then I like quirky touches that make it more personal. My style over the years has changed a lot, dramatically and drastically. Lately I’ve gotten more polished…

NT: How did you dress in high school?
RS: A lot of jeans and tees… and kind of a gypsy style is how I would call it. I liked to do interesting belts around the waist and lots of bangles, things like that. It just changes, I think, as your life changes or where you are, what you like and what you’re influenced by changes.

NT: What is your most beloved item that you wear?
RS: I have a 50’s party dress, that’s tulle… I think that’s my favourite piece. It fits me perfectly, it’s this pale, blush pink color, which I normally don’t like pink but… it’s just over the top and beautiful, it’s just so pretty…

NT: What do you feel best wearing?
RS: A simple dress and flats, something you can wear to go around and do anything you want in.

NT: What is the one fashion rule you never break?
RS: I don’t think I have any that I don’t break. I’m generally not aware of them until after I’ve broken them, so…I’ll do almost anything.

NT: What would you never be caught wearing?
RS: Harem pants. I don’t like pants, I definitely don’t like pants that make my crotch look like it’s between my knees, so… I will never wear that.

NT: What is your next must have item?
RS: Ankle boots. Definitely. For the fall.

NT: Do you already have them picked out?
RS: No. Or lace up boots. I’m kind of torn. I’m looking for an inexpensive pair…

NT: What do you love about the Seattle area
RS: How green it is, the mountains…and there is a Seattle vibe… there’s a collective feel, the type of people who come here, all interesting, very unique… everyone is more individualistic.

NT: When you shop, what are you looking for?
RS: I definitely want pieces that I feel could be flexible and done different ways. If you’ve seen the ‘Remix’ posts on my blog, I take one dress and show it 6 or 7 ways, that’s what I’m looking for when I’m looking for clothes, and probably why I own a lot of dresses…I like to work with that as the base, and build on top of it.

NT: Where do you shop online?
RS: I tend to look at Etsy and Ebay… I like to search for that one item that I’m looking for right now.

NT: What about color?
RS: I love color.

NT: Favourite color?
RS: I love red shoes, I have like 6 pairs of red shoes… but I think my favourite color is blue. My wardrobe used to be probably… 75% of it was blue… and now I’v expanded so much, and intentionally not bought blue, it’s gotten less, but I’m mildly obsessed with the color blue. I have a book on the history of the color blue. It’s a cool book.

NT: Do you think scent is a part of style ? What do you wear ?
RS: I think it can be, probably not for me. I tend to forget to wear my scent, I have one, it’s Escada, a summery scent, citrus-ey thing.. I’ve tried other ones and keep coming back to that, I’d call that my signature.

NT: Flats or heels? why?
RS: Flats. Because you can do some much in them, you can run everywhere in them. I love heels for the way they make you look, but I don’t think they’re realistic or practical.

NT: What do you look at style-wise on others?
RS: I think good use of color… using color in an interesting way. When people go above and beyond with using color, and create a pulled together look, I really notice that.